Morocco's Walid Regragui nominated for '2022 Best Coach' award after heroic World Cup run

Walid Regragui, the coach who led Morocco in their historic run to the World Cup semi-finals, is among the nominees for the 2022 Best Coach award from the the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

Regragui is nominated for the football statistics body's award alongside 14 other world-class coaches, including Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

The Moroccan coach received his nomination after steering the Atlas Lions to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar- making them the first Arab and African team to achieve this feat.

Paris-born Regragui, who previously managed Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca, only began his post three months before the World Cup began, and received a rather lukewarm reception from football fans and pundits, who derogatorily dubbed the bald-headed manager "avocado-head".

Regragui replaced Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, who was sacked by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation over disagreements about the Atlas Lions’ management, as well for Morocco’s poor performance.

Halilhodzic fell out with and excluded star player Hakim Ziyech, prompting the Chelsea winger to quit international football, only for Regragui to successfully convince him to return to the Morocco national team.

Regragui’s emphasis on defence helped Morocco beat the likes of Belgium, Spain and Portugal in the tournament's knockout stages, before the Atlas Lions eventually lost out to runners-up France 2-0 in the semi-final.

Regragui and his Morocco team were lauded for their history-making performance and received praise from football fans worldwide.

Regragui and his team were recently awarded for their efforts with an 'Order of the Throne' medal by King Mohammed VI during the Atlas Lions’ homecoming reception in Rabat last week.

Meanwhile, former coach Halilhodzic told Croatian media that the Moroccan football governing body had 'taken his pride' following his sacking in August this year, insisting that Morocco's participation in the World Cup should have crowned the end of his coaching career.